Tag Archives: reform

Just in case you missed this article from 2011, I think it gives great insight into current school ‘reform’ efforts.

I keep hearing about “school choice” but if you look at how this so called “choice” unravels you might begin to suspect the ‘choice’ being offered is between the pan and the fire. At this point in time, if I had school-aged children, I would teach them myself.

Oh, and if you find it hard to determine a right/left or Republican/Democrat lead in this mess that is because, unlike us little people that are further down the political food chain, the real brokers of power have no party.

And one more thought, while I do not claim to be any sort of an expert on economics, in my humble opinion – this is NOT a free-market model!

The cost of K–12 public schooling in the United States comes to well
over $500 billion per year. So, how much influence could anyone in the
private sector exert by controlling just a few billion dollars of that
immense sum? Decisive influence, it turns out. A few billion dollars in
private foundation money, strategically invested every year for a
decade, has sufficed to define the national debate on education; sustain
a crusade for a set of mostly ill-conceived reforms; and determine
public policy at the local, state, and national levels. In the domain of
venture philanthropy—where donors decide what social transformation
they want to engineer and then design and fund projects to implement
their vision—investing in education yields great bang for the buck.

Read the article below carefully. All sorts of mixed messages. I think this is a ‘testing of the water’ to see what reaction the “possibility” of fulfilling the rejected healthcare reform agenda garners from the public.

This would be a good time to contact state officials and remind them of your position on the issue. Here is the action list from the July 7, 2012 Oklahoma Rally For Healthcare Independence;

ACTION List
Call the Governor’s office and your state elected officials and tell them Oklahomans still don’t want ObamaCare in the state of Oklahoma.
Tell them:
1. NO to the health insurance exchanges—either state-based or other-wise. Insurance exchanges, state-based or otherwise, are a key compo-nent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”). No insurance exchanges = no ObamaCare!
2. NO to any expansion of Medicaid in the state of Oklahoma—The country is broke and we cannot afford this!
3. Terminate the Oklahoma Health Information Exchange Trust (OHIET) – This unelected entity is busy working to establish and imple-ment the foundations that make “Obama Care” work. This unelected body has no legislative oversight and is not accountable to the People of Oklahoma—they do not represent the interest of the people!

Gov. Mary Fallin’s administration signaled Friday that it is still considering partnering with the federal government to establish a health insurance exchange in the state – although a decision may not come for some time.

The state Attorney General’s Office has asserted in federal court that “Oklahoma has not established or elected to establish an exchange, and does not expect to do so,” but Fallin’s staff seemed to reopen the issue this week when a spokesman said the governor “is continuing to explore the state’s options as they relate to health insurance exchanges.”

In an expanded statement Friday, Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said Fallin’s staff doesn’t feel pressed by a widely reported “deadline” for states to report their exchange intentions to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by next Friday.

“The November 16 ‘deadline’ to submit a plan for an insurance exchange is an internal agency deadline, not in statute, with no obvious penalties for states that do not meet it,” Weintz said. “After reviewing ACA guidelines and conferring with other states, our policy staff does not believe it is true that Oklahoma will necessarily be subject to a federal exchange if it misses the November 16 deadline.”

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma—On Saturday, July 7, 2012, 9-11 am, The Oklahoma 10th Amendment Center, in conjunction with numerous other like-minded activist groups and individuals, will gather for a Rally for Healthcare Independence on the south steps of the Oklahoma State Capitol.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision last Thursday that upheld the most onerous portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), including the individual mandate – liberty-loving Oklahomans once again find themselves at the losing end of Washington, D.C.’s continued big government policies. Now that the Federal Government has been given the power to force individuals to buy health care insurance, into what other actions will individuals be coerced under the guise of a tax?

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution lists the seventeen powers specifically enumerated to the Federal Government. Health care is NOT an enumerated power. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Thus, any health care policy must be left to states to enact at the behest of their citizens – if they so choose. America’s Founders instituted government to protect the liberties of individual Americans. In fact, the majority believed that power could not emanate from a central government, that it must be dispersed among states, in order to protect the states and maximize the freedom of the individual.

In 2010, Oklahomans overwhelmingly supported State Question 756– The Oklahoma Health Care Freedom Amendment – which, among other things, prohibits making a person participate in a health care system. Our state has spoken on this issue.

Last spring, Oklahoma, along with the states of Louisiana, Florida, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin refused to implement the Health Insurance Exchange plans inherent in the PPACA. Again, our state has spoken on the issue.

Attendees of Saturday’s rally will have an opportunity to hear speakers who can educate them in some of the many ways Oklahoma citizens and legislators can band together to continue defending individual liberties. All Oklahoma legislators are invited to attend in order to assist and address their concerned constituents.

Please join us for this important rally on the south side of the Capitol steps, Saturday, July 7th, from 9am to 11am, and find out what you can do to prevent Oklahoma from succumbing to ObamaCare – and other unconstitutional federal overreaches.

(Washington, D.C.) Senator Jim DeMint (SC), Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06) and Congressman Jim Jordan (OH-04) sent a letter to all 50 governors urging them to oppose the implementation of the state health care exchanges mandated under President Obama’s health care law. Twelve Senators and 61 Representatives joined them in writing in opposition to these exchanges, which could cost businesses up to $3,000 per employee.

“Now that we know the courts will not save us from this harmful and unsustainable law, we urge all governors to join our fight full repeal by stopping its implementation,” said DeMint. “Americans have loudly rejected this law because it raises costs, lowers quality of care, and hikes taxes. The President’s health care law will not reform anything, but will hurt state budgets, destroy jobs, and reduce patient choices. States should reject these complex and costly exchanges. We cannot build a free market health care system on this flawed structure of centralized government control, we must repeal all of it and start over with commonsense solutions that make health care more affordable and accessible for every American.”

“While Republicans in Congress will continue to push for a full repeal of Obamacare, the states can take immediate action to reject these exchanges that will increase health care costs and add more layers of bureaucratic red tape. I encourage all 50 governors to do what’s best for the American people. They should refuse to implement an exchange and instead work towards common sense solutions that lower costs and return important health care decisions to patients and their doctors,” said Bachmann.

“The harmful impact on jobs is just one of many reasons we remain committed to fully repealing this law. If governors want to raise the cost of hiring people in their states, they should create an Obamacare exchange. If they want more jobs in their state, they should not. It’s that simple,” said Jordan.

The text of the letter is included below, and a list of signers is available here.

Dear Governors:

The Supreme Court has ruled significant parts of the Medicaid expansion of the President’s health care law unconstitutional as well as ruling that the individual mandate violated the Commerce Clause and will therefore be implemented as a punitive tax on the middle class. This presents us with a critical choice: Do we allow this reprehensible law to move forward or do we fully repeal it and start over with commonsense solutions? The American people have made it clear that they want us to throw this law out in its entirety.

As members of the U.S. Congress, we are dedicated to the full repeal of this government takeover of healthcare and we ask you to join us to oppose its implementation.

Most importantly, we encourage you to oppose any creation of a state health care exchange mandated under the President’s discredited health care law.

These expensive, complex, and intrusive exchanges impose a threat to the financial stability of our already-fragile state economies with no certainty of a limit to total enrollment numbers. Resisting the implementation of exchanges is good for hiring and investment. The law’s employer mandate assesses penalties – up to $3,000 per employee – only to businesses who don’t satisfy federally-approved health insurance standards and whose employees receive “premium assistance” through the exchanges. The clear language of the statute only permits federal premium assistance to citizens of states who create a state-based exchange. However, the IRS recently finalized a regulation that contradicts the law by allowing the federal government to provide premium assistance to citizens in those states that have not created exchanges. The IRS had no authority to finalize such a regulation. By refusing to create an exchange, you will assist us in Congress to repeal this violation which will help lower the costs of doing business in your state, relative to other states that keep these financially draining exchanges in place.

State-run exchanges are subject to all of the same coverage mandates and rules as the federally-run exchange. Clearing the hurdles of crafting an exchange that complies with the 600 plus pages of federal exchange regulations will only result in wasted state resources and higher premiums for your constituents.

Implementation of this law is not inevitable and without the unconstitutional individual mandate it is improbable. Join us in resisting a centralized government approach to health care reform and instead focus on solutions that make health care more affordable and accessible for every American. Let’s work to create a health care system of, for, and by the people, not government or special interests.

Formed at the conclusion of the last legislative session to examine the impact of the federal health care reform law on Oklahoma, this committee held its’ fifth (and final) meeting on Tuesday, 11/15/11 in the House chambers.

Here are the questions that were asked (follow this link to OK-SAFE’s Blog to read the answers)

-Do you think the Oklahoma Legislature should ignore the federal requirement that a health care exchange be established? If so, why?

-What about the provision that provides if a state doesn’t establish an exchange, the feds will do it for them?

-Do you think the state should count on the health care law being overturned/dismantled by a the Supreme Court or a future administration?

-What are your thoughts about the ability of the tea party and other grassroots conservative groups like yours to successfully fight against the establishment of the exchanges and to resist the implementation of the federal health care law in Oklahoma?

-What are your thoughts in general about this task force and the work they’ve conducted, recommendations they should make

Amanda Teegarden, Executive Director of OK-SAFE will present to us the same information she revealed to lawmakers on Thursday at a joint committee hearing on the federal health care reform about what will happen to our personal health information under the federal health care reform law.

•}Health Care Reform – is really about the use of IT to implement a nationwide health information network (NHIN), that will enable the seamless flow of information across boundaries, and that allows a growing global surveillance system to function.

•}Electronic Health Records – Reform is predicated on the creation of a standardized, interoperable electronic health record (EHR) on every single individual

•}Cradle-to-Grave – EHRs are used for data collection, aggregation and reporting and are intended to track a person from birth to death. (Longitudinal)

•}EHRs are universal and to be shared globally – not only within our government, but with foreign governments, universities, and other third parties.

•}Requires Standardization and Interoperability – to establish uniformity and compatibility in data collection, regardless of jurisdiction

•It gets really personal;

•}EHRs include each person’s genetic information – and will be used for research purposes without the knowledge or consent of the person

We will discuss this and other important facts about how health care reform has already impacted and changed Oklahoma’s policies and governmental structure and take your calls tonight from 6-8 pm on Rule of Law Radio Network.

If you are not familiar with the concept of a panopticon, it is an illuminating example of the powerful tool of control surveillance is.

Jeremy Bentham, an 18th century utopian philosopher conceived the idea of the Panopticon; or, the Inspection House in 1791. He described it as “a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example.“ and held that if the inmates believed that they were under constant surveillance, they would act as if they were, even if surveillance was non-existent.

Its method was a circular grid of surveillance; the jailors housed in a central tower being provided a 360-degree view of the imprisoned from a central guard tower where the watchers were obscured from the prisoner’s sight. By making the watcher both invisible and unverifiable, it also rendered him virtually unnecessary. Because the inmates believed and acted as if they were being watched, the actual watching becomes less of a requirement.

The scrutiny of surveillance is psychologically internalized. We learn to monitor ourselves and conform. “What matters is that he knows himself to be observed” stated Betham. In view of this, he laid down the principle that “power should be visible and unverifiable”

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has proposed that medical records of all Americans be turned over to the federal government by private health insurers.

This time, America is learning about the federal government’s plan to collect and aggregate confidential patient records for every one of us.

In a proposed rule from Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal government is demanding insurance companies submit detailed health care information about their patients.

Amanda presented a clear, lucid and powerful 45 minute presentation of the research she has spent months working on.

The presentation laid bare the ugly guts of the federal health care reform by describing it by its most basic components.

}Health Care Reform – is really about the use of IT to implement a nationwide health information network (NHIN), that will enable the seamless flow of information across boundaries, and that allows a growing global surveillance system to function.

And that;

}Electronic Health Records – Reform is predicated on the creation of a standardized, interoperable electronic health record (EHR) on every single individual

This system is;

}Cradle-to-Grave – EHRs are used for data collection, aggregation and reporting and are intended to track a person from birth to death. (Longitudinal)

And;

}EHRs are universal and to be shared globally – not only within our government, but with foreign governments, universities, and other third parties.

}Requires Standardization and Interoperability – to establish uniformity and compatibility in data collection, regardless of jurisdiction

It gets really personal;

}EHRs include each person’s genetic information – and will be used for research purposes without the knowledge or consent of the person

Part III Office of the National Coordinator/ Government+Industry +Academia = PPPs /One “Fused” System

Part IV State Initiatives

Part V Privacy & Security

Part VI Conclusion

Your personal, medical information flows from you to the health IT data collection system to the prying eyes of the federal government and research universities to the private sector and even foreign organizations.

Especially noteworthy were the points made about the inclusion of health information into law enforcement and intelligence data fusion.

Fusion Center: A collaborative effort of two or more agencies that provide resources, expertise, and/or information to the center with the goal of maximizing the ability to detect, prevent, apprehend, and respond to criminal and terrorism activity. Source: Recommended Fusion Center Law Enforcement Intelligence Standards March 2005

Purpose – the elimination of any barrier to information exchange and sharing, regardless of jurisdiction. Information is to be shared nationally and internationally.

As noted in the notes section of slide 31;

The Fusion Center Guidelines have now been updated to incorporate public health and health care community information.

This is possible due to policy changes allowing the seamless flow of information across boundaries, and because all state systems, including the health care system use common sets of standards and are interoperable. Both the Fusion Centers and the Health Care System are NIEM Compliant – both are part of the Nationwide Health Information Network.

The result – one fused system.

Read more about the integration of “public health and healthcare communities into the homeland security intelligence and information sharing process.” here

Slide 41 touches up our medical and genetic information used for research purposes.

There are a few other surprises and outrages contained in the presentation, so be sure to take a look at it.

Amanda concludes;

The American People Are NOT Slaves – Nor simply ‘carbon-based life forms’[as one federal document refers to us]

Government, via health care reform and other federal initiatives, is establishing a globally networked and integrated intelligence enterprise – one that includes an extraordinary amount of extremely personal, detailed information about the America people.

Government, in it’s attempt to be an all-knowing technocratic “god” and to satisfy the IT industry’s insatiable, ever-changing appetite, is doing an end-run around human dignity and nullifying our God-given rights to life, liberty and property.

And gives the joint committee seven recommendations;

1.Repent – not kidding here

2.Do not establish a state-based Health Insurance exchange – it will be the same as the Federal government’s version

3.Allow people to escape HIT/HIE system without penalty; do not penalize providers who opt not to adopt EHRs or participate in this system

If you remember nothing else from the following Health Freedom Watch article article-remember this about so-called “state based” health insurance exchanges;

“Who administers the exchanges, however, is unimportant. What counts is who writes the rules that govern them. Those rules will be written entirely in Washington”

Remember this date too-Sept. 14 2011 in OKC-the Joint Committee on Federal Health Care Law, a special legislative committee that will study how the new federal health care law affects Oklahoma, has its first meeting on Oklahoma City.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released its first set of proposed regulations on the American Health Benefits Exchanges required under President Obama’s health “reform” law. The deadline for public comments is September 28 , 2011 . In its announcement on the proposed rules, HHS officials claimed that exchanges:

are state-based competitive marketplaces;

will offer individuals and small businesses the same affordable insurance choices as members of Congress; and

will provide Americans clout.

However, the claim that exchanges are “state-based” is countered by 811 uses of the word “require” in the first set of proposed regulations, according to Chris Jacobs of the Republican Policy Committee, as reported by Politico Pulse. Shortly after the release, HHS was forced to retract a key part of its claim:

Trumpeting the advent of the exchanges, the administration said Monday that they would “give Americans the same insurance choices as members of Congress.” However, in response to questions after a news conference on Monday, health officials acknowledged that this claim was not necessarily correct.

Under the rules, an employer may allow employees to choose any health plan at a given level of coverage. But an exchange may also allow an employer to limit its workers to one or two health plans – far fewer than the number available to members of Congress and other federal workers.

The claim that exchanges are competitive “marketplaces” with choice and clout is also challenged by the fact that the law outlaws catastrophic major medical insurance and limits insurance options in the exchanges to managed-care plans.

Calling an exchange a marketplace is a carefully crafted strategy. Herndon Alliance published a two-page paper that strongly encourages using the word “marketplace” when discussing exchanges. Its list of “good words” – which includes “control,” “choice,” “consumer” – features the word “marketplace” with the following statement:

[T]his term was preferred over exchange. Public associates marketplace with purchasing and exchange did not conjure up the notion of purchasing. Also use marketplace not market (the public identifies “market” with groceries)

HHS asserts that the draft proposal gives states significant flexibility to build an exchange that works for them. But Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute has already refuted that assertion in National Review:

[S]upporters have sought to frighten Republican governors into implementing the law by holding out the nightmare scenario of the federal government’s administering the exchanges. Who administers the exchanges, however, is unimportant. What counts is who writes the rules that govern them. Those rules will be written entirely in Washington. (Emphasis mine)

Four more exchange regulation proposals will be published. Despite the rhetoric, it’s clear that Washington intends to govern the states through the exchanges. As evidence, using a word search feature, here is a list of key words and the number of times they appear in the 62-page proposed “Establishment of Exchanges” rule, the longest of the first set of proposed rules:

WORD

MENTIONS

Require

628

Must

439

Establish

285

Consumer

100

Report

68

Regulation

65

Submit

59

Data

48

Secretary

44

Choose

41

Choice

37

Shall

22

Rights

10

Public comments are due by 5 p.m. September 28, 2011. Refer to file code CMS-9989-P for the Exchange Framework rule or CMS-9975-P for the Reinsurance, Risk Corridors and Risk Adjustment rule. Electronic comments can be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov .

In the actual testimony, Dr. Barresi states, “As all participating states prepare to transition to Common Core curriculum standards [initiated with Arne Duncan and the DOE], more flexibility is also needed in the use of federal funds for professional development that would support effective instructional practices. Additionally, broadening the scope of the designation of Title programs to include a wider array of subject matter, such as STEM initiatives, would help enable states to offer a more challenging curriculum.”

This does not sound like “get out of our business” so much as “give us the money and let us spend it the way we want”.

As is visible from the post on the left, the Chiefs are very specifically advocating MORE federal control of the already over-federalized Elementary and Secondary Education Act. How does surrendering local control of our elementary and secondary students to the federal government in turn provide local control?

ARRA (stimulus) funds are those used to “turnaround” failing schools. Is this semantics? If the Oklahoma State Department of Education is simply ‘passing’ on the funds from the federal government to the local school, then the Department is not spending them so the Department is not taking federal funds for education reforms?

ROPE has found at least one bill “requested” by the Department containing references or inclusions for access to federal grants. Additionally, ROPE has uncovered the mechanism by which the Core Curriculum Standards and something called the P20 data system (begun by a “requested” bill) which will collect data from children across a wide range of data points and share that information in without parental consent are linked to federal funding. We will share that with you soon.

In the meantime, we must be vigilant and continue to monitor the words and actions of our newly elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Baressi, and hold her accountable for them.

The School Improvement Grants were approved by the board Thursday and the federal money is intended to help the schools, all of which are in Oklahoma City, improve a track record of poor student performance.

“Early childhood education, special for children ages birth to 3, is both a profound moral obligation and the most effective way to reverse the cycle of poverty in America,” Kaiser said in a town-hall meeting in Washington, D.C., following Duncan’s announcement.

Q&A With State Supt. Baressi with the Oklahoma Education Association
“No. I don’t like mandates. I’m a local control type of fan and advocate. I’m sure Oklahoma City would be happy to share their best practices in this area and results from this. My bottom line is this: I want to see the numbers. I want to see the academic outcomes as a result of this process, after they’ve had it in for a couple, three years. I want to see how it facilitates outcomes, how it facilitates learning.”